Many horror movies that I [personally] consider to be true horror were mainly late 70s horror flicks
The Omen (first two)
The Exorcist (only the first)
The Amityville Horror (original only)
Burnt Offerings
Rosemary's Baby
The Shining
Romero's Dead movies (first three only, though the zombie subgenre has been gang raped in recent years)
Admittedly there are some movies - very few - in recent years that have made a comeback to what (for me) is considered true horror.
Hereditary
Sinister (first only)
Evil Dead (reboot only)
Dead Silence (though few agree)
The Conjuring (though I've only seen the first)
Don't get me wrong. Slashers, home invasions, Freddy, torture porn and inbred cannibals, they're all fun-to-watch movies. But in recent decades, suspense, gore and jump scares have all become confused with horror. And these subgenres have all that. But they're not scary. I love the Saw franchise, Wrong Turn franchise, Hostel, Nightmare, Chainsaw, Final Destination, F13, Halloween, they're all great entertaining movies/franchises. I love good suspense, and even well done gore, but I've never associated them specifically with horror. I know very well that I stand among a minority in wondering how movies like Scream or even Psycho, get classified as horror on the same lists as The Omen or Rosemary's Baby.
I suppose I have to admit to what I often say, but sometimes forget. Fear is subjective.
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[deleted]
5 years ago
You should watch The Changeling (1980) - a great ghost story with George C Scott. It's on youtube the last I checked.
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zephyr_cape (2979)
5 years ago
It sounds like you're pretty much just into gothic horror.
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[deleted]
a year ago
I'd call them 'supernatural' horror. But the point remains he has a very narrow definition of 'horror'.
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zephyr_cape (2979)
5 years ago
Yeah these are mostly pretty straight but isn't there quite a lot of comedy and satire in Dawn and Day of the Dead? Why do you think they get a pass? I'd actually say Dawn of the Dead is more comedic and fundamentally satirical than Scream, though a difference being, not of the genre itself/on a meta-level.
Also have you heard the theory that The Shining is parody/satire?
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artguylarry (498)
5 years ago
Actually I guess I can see what you are saying about Dawn of the Dead. And I think maybe the humor in it didn't stand out as much for me because I think I was creeped out more by walking dead people than anything else at that age, so the uneasiness of watching it kind of took over. For me, it was a constant state of dread. But you're right, there was more humor in it than I would prefer. I don't recall it so much in Day of the Dead. That doesn't mean it wasn't there. It just means I don't remember it. It has been quite some time. Don't think of it as giving them a pass. I just remember it being what it meant to me then.
As for The Shining, I watch it more frequently even now, but don't really see in it parody or satire. I know it strays from the source material. But I don't define that as parody. Just a variation on a theme. To me it's still pretty gripping. I don't recall any real humor to speak of. I would love to hear the theories on it though.
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whynotwriteme (7135)
5 years ago
I agree with you 100%. As soon as the early 80s slasher craze kicked off, real horror was a thing of the past. Apart from Rosemary's Baby, the 60s and earlier movies were mostly too tame, so the 1970s represents the pinnacle of horror movie greatness. Even a made-for-TV miniseries like the 1978 Salem's Lot was truer horror than all the Freddy and Jason and Michael Myers startle-fests of the 80s and the modern zombie invasion trend.
BTW, Have you seen The Sentinel? GREAT late 70s horror!
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JMWick (229)
5 years ago
I was expecting a different response based on your initial comment. I enjoy all the series you mentioned. I have a disagreement about how you class certain movies as not true horror. It seems if ghosts, demons or religion are involved you think its true horror.
I don't believe in ghosts, demons or possessions and have no religious beliefs so films like The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, The Conjuring and Hereditary are not that horrifying to me although I do enjoy them quite a bit. Loved Hereditary.
Psycho and Scream fit nicely into the horror genre (to me) because when done right with directors like Craven and Hitchcock, it is horrifying to think that someone your close with or that the nice guy next door could be a crazy killer. Scary because it could happen for real to anybody.
PG-13 horror, Science fiction horror, Movies with a sexy teen body count, Shark movies, "Horror" movies with kids on bikes and Found footage films are (to me) all Horror movies because you were right when you said Fear Is Subjective. Example, Jaws is a shark movie and that kept a lot of people out of beaches for years.
I know a lot of people who find gory movies horrifying as well, my ex couldn't sleep after seeing the shaving scene in Cabin Fever and my first time seeing Cravens Last House on the Left I was disturbed for days. We'll have to agree to disagree about some movies being true horror or not.
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